Today I went to see IT, which is one of the films I’ve been most excited about seeing this year. I love the book, and have read it several times. I don’t love the miniseries, although it probably is worth watching purely for Tim Curry.

It was quite a ride. We arrived early, but it was Gold Lounge which meant we could relax with a glass of wine while we waited to take our seats. Then we had food brought to our luxury recliner seats at the start of the film. It’s really the only way to do it.

I found myself not completely loving the film for about the first half, which was disappointing. It was perfectly good–excellent, even–just not awesome. Then things started to pick up. By the end of the film I was fully sold. The young cast were excellent. Pennywise was excellent. Some of the visuals were properly disturbing, and even managed to seem fresh and original. Everything had come together …

My only reservation as I walked out was the feeling that I’d not seen a complete story. Obviously I know the film only adapts half of the novel; but what they did adapt had a perfectly solid beginning, middle, and end … but it still felt as if something was missing. Maybe the story of IT needs both halves to be properly told, or maybe I was bringing too much baggage from the books into the cinema. Either way, I am SOOOO excited for Chapter 2!